Taiwan’s “MEET TAIWAN Open Arms” campaign wins Gold Stevie® Award, showcasing Taiwan’s warm hospitality in the global business events industry.
The MEET TAIWAN Open Arms annual integrated marketing campaign, organized by the Taiwan International Trade Administration (TITA), under the Ministry of Economic Affairs and executed by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), was launched last year (2023). The Open Arms campaign, recognized at the 21st Stevie® Awards, won the prestigious Gold Stevie® award for the category, Communications or PR Campaign/Program of the Year – Country, Region or City.
“MEET TAIWAN Open Arms” embodies the spirit of extending a warm welcome to the global business events industry. Last year, the original theme song and music video were launched for the first time, accompanied by the mascot “PaQ” (meaning “open” in the Taiwanese dialect), to express Taiwan’s friendliness and enthusiasm to business events partners worldwide.
Ministry of Economic Affairs, Taiwan International Trade Administration(TITA) is dedicated to promoting Taiwan’s Business events industry internationally. Through the MEET TAIWAN Open Arms marketing theme, TITA conveys the warm and welcoming image of Taiwan, inviting all participants to open their arms and fully experience Taiwan.
The campaign also introduced the MEET TAIWAN Festival, a full month of continuous activities that showcased Taiwan’s vibrant energy of business events, with over 300 domestic and international industry players participating. The Asian MICE Forum was held. The campaign also engaged the public through creative social media videos welcoming international business visitors. Additionally, at the Taiwan Expo Japan, an immersive dome theater shaped like the Open Arms symbol was constructed, highlighting Taiwan’s creativity and vibrant energy in the business events industry.
The Stevie® Awards are often referred to as the “Oscars of the Business World”. Each year, over 12,000 entries from more than 70 countries and regions compete in a variety of categories. In the PR category alone, there were 45 awards. This year, the 2024 Stevie Awards ceremony will be held on October 11th in Istanbul, Turkey.
Stevie® Award judges highlighted that the Open Arms campaign effectively conveyed a warm and sincere welcome. The memorable and catchy slogan, along with the creation of the open-armed mascot PaQ, brought the Open Arms concept to life and gained widespread popularity. The campaign broke away from traditional marketing approaches of destination promotion of business events, using a warm and human-centered approach to communicate its message. The result was a rapid recovery in the number of business events held in Taiwan in 2023, proving the campaign’s success as a destination marketing strategy.
The theme MEET TAIWAN Open Arms was embodied in the exhibition booth design, highlighted by a striking and memorable dome theater display.
In recent years, TITA has consistently earned numerous international accolades, such as being recognized for three consecutive years (2021–2023) as the Best Convention & Visitors Bureau (Asia) by the prestigious Stella Awards. Through MEET TAIWAN’s initiative, TITA has strategically promoted Taiwan’s international image as a top destination for business events. Past Stevie® Award achievements include a Gold in 2015 for the Asia Super Team campaign and a Bronze in 2019 for the High Five.
George is the News Feed Manager, Content Creator, and Social Media Manager at the TravelDailyNews network of online newspapers. At the same time, he is completing his studies in the Department of Business Administration at the Athens University of Economics and Business.
